Northern Ireland’s Under-17s are set to play Portugal U17s and USA U17s in friendlies this week as part of preparations for Euro qualifiers later this month.
The U17s will be taking on the Portuguese and the Americans at the Pinatar Arena complex in Murcia, Spain.
First up is a game against Portugal U17s on Thursday (9 October) at 3pm followed by a match against USA U17s on Saturday (11 October). It also has a 3pm kick-off local time.
The 23-strong squad chosen by U17s head coach Andy Waterworth is chiefly made up of players who are currently part of, or have been part of, the Irish FA JD Academy or have previously played for Northern Ireland at youth level.
However, there are three players who are completely new to the Northern Ireland international set-up. They are Shrewsbury Town goalkeeper Tom Hill, Heart of Midlothian defender Alfie Wilson and Bournemouth midfielder Jake Drewett.
The U17s are off to Cyprus later this month to compete in Group 11 in round one of the qualifiers for U17 Euro 2026. They will be facing Armenia (28 October), Cyprus (31 October) and Finland (3 November).
The Northern Ireland U17s squad for the games v Portugal and USA is as follows:
Goalkeepers – Matthew Belshaw (Glentoran), Phoenix Blayney (Larne), Tom Hill (Shrewsbury Town).
Defenders – Alfie Mulvenna and Sonny Trainor (both Larne), Calum Anderson (Southampton), Daniel McCarron (Dungannon Swifts), Charlie Campbell (Linfield), Alfie Wilson (Hearts), Calum Woods (Dundalk).
Midfielders – Liam Kelly (Derry City), Charlie McConnell (Bohemians), Emmett Morrison (Sheffield United), Jake Drewett (Bournemouth), Finlay Ross (Linfield), Adam Nelson (Glentoran), Conor Wilson (Coleraine).
Forwards – Joel Kerr (West Ham United), Coran Madden (Brentford), Zak Magowan (Glentoran), Eamonn Tohill (Cliftonville), Jack May (Larne), Luke Hawe (Southampton).
Image: Adam Nelson (centre), who captained Northern Ireland’s U16s to success in the inaugural Gary Speed Cup in Wales back in August, has now been included in the U17s squad for this week’s games against Portugal and USA.
